Roger Hanin Movies
The son of French parents, Algerian-born actor Roger Hanin went on stage in Paris after a tentative stab at studying law and pharmaceutics. Most of Hanin's appearances in European productions were imitations of American "film noir" melodramas, in which he usually played hardbitten Robert Mitchum types. Few of Hanin's films were widely released in the United States, though filmgoers might remember such titles as Rocco and His Brothers (1960), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968), and the American-financed western The Revengers (1972). Roger Hanin's most sustained term of prominence occured in the mid '60s, when he played a secret agent known as the Tiger in several espionage spoofs directed by Claude Chabrol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1962
This routine drama set during World War II in Algeria is based on a true and tragic incident. A French garrison has been demoralized by the strength of the German forces in the region, so when the Allies land, it gives them some hope. They are put under orders to take and hold a bridge, allowing no one to cross it. When a German company wants to use the bridge (peacefully), a narrow-minded French captain gives the orders not to let the Germans through. At first, the Germans are put off by a series of tricks, but that cannot last forever. Sooner or later, if the captain's orders are followed, an ill-equipped and outnumbered French unit will find itself up against the superior strength of the German contingent. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Carrel, Paul Meurisse, (more)
- 1962
A secret formula for making synthetic petroleum becomes the bone of contention in this drama. Included in the race to get the formula, is an ambassador's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
A few years before he was to gain a name as the French secret agent "Tiger" in spy spoofs by Claude Chabrol, Roger Hanin appeared as Jean, a serious secret agent who is teamed with Vigo (Claude Brasseur) in a case involving a stolen Russian code. One of the attachés in the Russian embassy has come under suspicion because he lost some important papers, and then he has some mysterious dealings with a saleswoman and is apparently kidnapped. The two agents have their work cut out for them as they try to decipher what is really going on -- and who has the papers, as well as the code. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Audret, Dany Carrel, (more)
- 1961
Based on a novel by Henri Dupuy-Mazuel, this costume drama is set in the 16th century during the time of the French king, Louis XI (Jean-Louis Barrault). Charles, Duke of Bourgogne kidnaps the beautiful Jeanne de Beauvais (Rosanna Schiaffino) because King Louis has not granted Charles permission to marry the woman (she is the king's goddaughter). Charles then accuses Robert de Neuville (Jean Marais) of the kidnapping, and the fight is on. Robert manages to rescue Jeanne, but then the two of them are faced with squelching Charles' bid for the throne. The "miracle of the wolves" happens when the animals protect Jeanne from a band of villains. Jean Marais creates a powerful Robert (he does his own stunts), as illustrated in the poster for the film which shows him with upraised sword. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Rosanna Schiaffino, (more)
- 1961
Les Bras de la nuit is another of the typical love vs. duty stories in which a police inspector, Landais (Roger Hanin) is caught in a tough situation. Daniele (Danielle Darrieux) is a killer -- she has murdered her husband -- yet after the inspector starts investigating the case, he is completely overcome by the woman. Her obvious attractions have him in thrall and eventually he realizes he will do anything not to lose her. His solution is to cover-up for her, a solution that only brings sorrow in the end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Roger Hanin, (more)
- 1961
A police inspector on the trail of the murderer of a nightclub owner falls for the dead man's drug-addicted mistress. He tries to get her to talk, but the commissioner suspects her and wants the case solved, so he orders her arrested. She disappears, and the inspector is led to the home of the real killer. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1960
His successor's death prompts the retaliation of this top agent against the murderers. ~ All Movie Guide
The first feature film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and one of the seminal films of the French New Wave, Breathless is story of the love between Michel Poiccard, a small-time hood wanted for killing a cop, and Patricia Franchini, an American who sells the International Herald Tribune along the boulevards of Paris. Their relationship develops as Michel hides out from a dragnet. Breathless uses the famous techniques of the French New Wave: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition Godard uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate "mismatches" between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film's vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart's clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio. When Breathless was first released, audiences and critics responded to the burst of energy it gave the French cinema; it won numerous international awards and became an unexpected box-office sensation. ~ Louis Schwartz, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, (more)
- 1960
The protagonists in this routine sexual drama are less than appealing, which makes involvement in their one-night peccadillo a difficult challenge. Catherine (Pascale Petit, on her way to making a spate of movies in this decade) and Michel (Roger Hanin) meet when Michel runs into an old school friend who happens to be Catherine's husband. The husband asks Michel to give Catherine a lift to her next destination and after he agrees, the two set out in the car. Before many miles have passed, a lusty flirtation is well underway and the strangers decide to spend a wild night together. The results of this indiscretion are much worse than either could have realized. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Petit, Roger Hanin, (more)
Luchino Visconti's operatic masterpiece tells the story of the Parondis, a poor family from a village in southern Italy who come to Milan seeking a better life. Following the death of her husband, proud Rosaria (Katina Paxinou) picks up stakes and moves to the city with four of her sons: Simone (Renato Salvatori), Rocco (Alain Delon), Ciro (Max Cartier), and Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi). Awaiting them in Milan is her oldest son, Vincenzo (Spiros Focas), who himself is preoccupied with his impending nuptials to the beautiful Ginetta (Claudia Cardinale). Divided into chapters focused loosely on each brother, the movie chronicles the Parondis' struggle to get by, as the brothers take odd jobs and the family endures life in a cramped tenement. Much of the movie's second half deals largely with Simone and Rocco. The loutish Simone eventually finds success as a boxer, and the family soon moves to a better neighborhood. Meanwhile, Rocco gets drafted by the military, and becomes a successful boxer himself upon his return. Complications arise when Nadia (Annie Girardot), a prostitute, enters their lives. Simone falls in love with Nadia first; however, Rocco eventually becomes the object of her affection. Simone's obsession with Nadia and his rapidly deteriorating behavior ultimately threaten to bring the family to ruin, even as the saintly Rocco tries to save his brother. At the peak of Rocco's success, Simone commits a crime that cruelly dashes Rocco's hopes of keeping the family together. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, (more)
- 1959
In this crime drama, a criminal mastermind and his gang plan to rob the Bank of Belgium during the Brussels Exposition as the roof of the bank is being repaired. Included in his gang are a woman, haunted by wartime memories, who loves money, her assistant, and a man pretending to be a construction worker who will help them get in. The woman owns a floating nightclub, and when she refuses to sell it to a gangster named "The Bug" real trouble ensues for the would-be crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadja Tiller, Robert Hossein, (more)
- 1959
This is the third feature in a series about an intrepid French spy by the nickname of "The Gorilla," but unlike the earlier films, this time around Roger Hanin replaces Lino Ventura in the title role. A West German scientist has discovered a way to recover missiles shot into space, and the major Western powers are after his secret. Even though the scientist is willing to pass his discovery on to NATO, it is guarded by an elite, undercover West German police force. As foreign agents, including the Russians and Americans, try to get their hands on the secret, "The Gorilla" is forced into the affair by his surly, aging boss -- he has to make sure that the scientist's discovery ends up with NATO. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Hanin, Charles Vanel, (more)
- 1959
One of three 1959 films starring the husband-and-wife team of Robert Hossein and Marina Vlady, La Sentence is a rather flat wartime suspense film with a good premise but weak dialogue. The setting is a beach house just before the Allied invasion on D-Day. A German officer has been killed by a commando unit of resistance fighters, three men and two women. They are caught and locked in the basement of the house until they can be executed in about an hour. During that sixty minutes, the five protagonists reveal a few secrets among themselves as rescuers and the Allied forces rapidly approach. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marina Vlady, Robert Hossein, (more)
- 1958
Adapted from a novelette by Prosper Merimée, Tamango ran into censorship problems in the U.S. for several reasons, not least of which was the fact that its director, John Berry, had been blacklisted during the Communist witch hunt. Set during the early 19th century, the story concerns a slave revolt engineered by newly captured African warrior Tamango (Alex Cressan). Though the revolt is violently put down, the legend of Tamango lives on in the hearts and minds of black slaves everywhere. One of the most controversial aspects of Tamango was its depiction of a romance between white ship's captain Curd Jurgens and slave woman Dorothy Dandridge. This alone was enough to deny the film bookings in certain Southern regions of the U.S. Since that time, Tamango (which was filmed simultaneously in an English- and French-language version) has gained a cult reputation among film buffs, and as such is a movie that deserves to be better known. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Dandridge, Curd Jürgens, (more)
- 1958
Un Drole de Dimanche (What a Sunday) stars Danielle Darrieux as Catherine and Bourvil as her ex-husband Jean. By chance, Catherine and Jean are reunited five years after she walked out of his life. In a fit of romantic nostalgia, Jean mentally reconstructs the events that led up to their separation. He then determines to win her back, certain that he'll never, ever make the same mistakes again? or will he? Listed fifth in the cast of Un Drole de Dimanche is a young sprout named Jean Belmondo, who as Jean-Paul Belmondo would burst onto the international film scene in Godard's Breathless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Bourvil, (more)
- 1958
Director Giles Grangier adapted the screenplay of Les Desordre et la Nuit from his own novel. Jean Gabin stars as Vallois, a vice inspector for the Paris police. Vallois takes special interest in the plight of drug-addicted Lucky (Najda Tiller), whom he considers to be more victim than criminal. Taking it upon himself to wean Lucky away from narcotics, Vallois also wins her love -- and, incidentally, smashes the dope ring responsible for her addiction. Second-billed Danielle Darrieux actually has a minor role, which she pulls off with finesse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1958
This routine story by director Maurice Cloche is about two gangs at war over the possession of a valuable cache of crude diamonds. As the gangs battle it out with each other, a young man is drawn into the conflict by his girlfriend, an aggressive sort of woman in her own way. Before the basically innocent bystander becomes a casualty of the dispute, he falls in love with another woman who manages to lead him away from the conflict. At the same time, the gangs are well on the way to destroying each other. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Pascal, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, (more)
- 1958
The producers of Une Balles dans le Canou (A Slug in the Heater) undoubtedly believed that the magical name of BARDOT on the marquee would draw in patrons by the thousands. Imagine the surprise of some of those patrons when the film's star turned out not to be Brigitte Bardot, but her younger sister Mijanou. Alas, the younger Bardot has none of her celebrated sibling's sensuality or charisma. The story concerns a couple of ex-servicemen who engineer a robbery, only to run afoul of professional criminals. There is little to recommend the film outside of the assured supporting performance of the always interesting Roger Hanin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Vaneck, Mijanou Bardot, (more)
- 1957
Sois Belle et Tais Toi is more popularly known by its American-release title Be Beautiful but Shut Up. Mylene Demongeot plays a birdbrained young lady who gets mixed up with a gang of juvenile-delinquent smugglers. The crooks use the heroine as their go-between, intending to leave her holding the bag if and when the cops show up. Fortunately, a handsome police inspector (Henri Vidal) catches on to their scheme. One of the screenwriters for Sois Belle et Tais Toi was no less Roger Vadim. When the film was first released, its direction was often erroniously credited to Marc Allegret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Vidal, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1956
Vous Pigez! (You Get It!) stars Eddie Constantine in his standard guise of hard-boiled American G-man Lemmy Caution. The plot is the usual melange of intrigue, double-crosses and impossibly beautiful women. The delectable damsels in this outing include the toothsome Maria Frau, Nadine Tallier and Irene Tunc. The villainy is in the capable hands of Roger Hanin, who went on to spy-flick fame of his own as "The Tiger." Though Vous Pigez! was the seventh of the "Caution" series, it was held back from release in the U.S. until a few of the later entries made the rounds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Constantine, Roger Hanin, (more)
